Dr. Kwame Asante
Research Scientist & Author
MIT Media Lab
Dr. Kwame Asante is a research scientist at the MIT Media Lab and the author of Useful by Design, a widely-cited book on the gap between technological capability and genuine human benefit in AI systems. His research focuses on how AI products affect the people who use them over time — not just whether users adopt a feature, but whether that feature makes their work or life meaningfully better six months later.
Over the past five years, his lab has run longitudinal studies on AI tool adoption across healthcare, education, and knowledge work — tracking what happens to users' skills, autonomy, and satisfaction after sustained AI tool use. The findings are nuanced in ways that make both AI optimists and AI skeptics uncomfortable, which is exactly where he prefers to operate. His work has been cited in AI policy discussions across the US, EU, and UK.
At BuildWithAI Summit, Kwame joins the Day 2 panel as the researcher in a room full of people actively shipping AI products — the person asking the questions about long-term user impact that most product timelines don't leave room for. His goal is not to slow anyone down, but to give builders the research they need to make better decisions about what they're actually optimizing for.
Session
Fine-Tuning vs Prompting — When to Use
Day 1
Engineering
A clear-eyed comparison of fine-tuning and prompt engineering — the cost, latency, and maintenance tradeoffs most tutorials skip over. After this talk you'll know exactly which approach fits which use case and how to make the argument to your team.
Session
Closing Keynote — What Ships Next
Day 2
Main Stage
A closing keynote on where AI product development is heading in the next 12 months — not predictions, but a framework for thinking about what to build next based on where the tools, the users, and the market are actually going. The talk you'll still be thinking about on the flight home.
Pick your seat.
VIP Access
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Mentorship with speakers
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Access to all session recordings (released within 2 weeks)
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Digital speaker resources & slide decks
Available until August 1, 2026 or offer Sold Out
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